


The Other Prophecy

by CoffeePlease96



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29079282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeePlease96/pseuds/CoffeePlease96
Summary: It’s been twenty years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Life has been quiet for Harry Potter, but things are about to change. A new professor at Hogwarts, an unfulfilled prophecy, and something left behind by the Half-Blood Prince will quickly put him back up against oldfoes.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. 

Author’s Note: I haven’t written Harry Potter fanfic in a long time. In fact, I deleted all that I had. But recently this idea has been in my head after rereading so here I am again. Not sure if it’s any good but feel free to let me know!

Summary: It’s been twenty years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Life has been quiet for Harry Potter, but things are about to change. A new professor at Hogwarts, an unfulfilled prophecy, and something left behind by the Half-Blood Prince will quickly put him back up against old  
foes.

There weren’t many things that brought Harry Potter back to Hogwarts in the years after the war. For the few weeks directly after, they all spent time holding services for the dead on the castle grounds and slowly fixing the damages that the building had. Once that finished, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to forgo their final year back at the school and take a much needed and deserved break. 

Instead, they traveled outside of Wizarding Britain and Scotland where, while they still sometimes got recognized, it wasn’t nearly as much as they did at home. On one of their stops, they went to Australia to restore the memories of Hermione’s parents and spend some time there. The sun and freedom of being no ones in its muggle cities did wonders for all three. 

Upon their return to their daily lives at the end of August, Hermione began to study to take her NEWTS, Ron began to help George get the shop back up and running and Harry informed the Ministry of his intent to become an Auror. Of course, Kingsley assured him they would waive the actual application with the stipulation that he would take some time before starting training. With the amount of destruction and death – including his own – that Harry had witnessed, the new Minister thought it best he take some more time. 

Harry had protested at first but when everyone else expressed similar opinions, he finally relented. The problem was, he had no idea what to do with himself. At first, he helped Ron and George with the shop, and then Arthur, Molly, and the rest of the Weasley clan fix-up the Burrow. Unfortunately, neither of those projects took much time to finish and Harry found himself bored once again. 

For the first time in his life, Harry Potter had actual free time. There were no chores from the Dursley’s, no Defense Against the Dark Arts professors to watch carefully and no Dark Lord to destroy. As it turned out, Harry didn’t do well with time on his hands. Just like that, Harry realized he could finally act like a normal teenager. 

Which included sneaking into Hogwarts to spend time with his girlfriend. 

If there was something Harry knew for sure, it was that he loved Ginny and that she loved him back. The problem was, due to the circumstances of his life, they didn’t get much of a chance to spend time alone together. Now that Harry didn’t have any responsibilities for the moment, he was finally able to make Ginny his priority. 

For months, Harry was able to get past the wards around Hogwarts and into Gryffindor tower. He wasn’t sure completely sure how he was able to but he had a feeling that it had something to do with the castle recognizing him as its savior. It was the only time he enjoyed the moniker. 

However, like most of his exploits in Hogwarts, he was eventually caught. To say that McGonagall wasn’t amused with his antics was probably an understatement. So, when he found himself in the Headmistress’ office, he felt like he was eleven years old again. 

To his relief, Minerva didn’t lay into him like he had expected once they were alone. Instead, she congratulated him for finding love and being happy before making it clear that he would not be able to just come and go as he pleased anymore. Though disappointed, Harry gave his word that he’d abide by her wishes. 

Once they reached their agreement, McGonagall handed him a drink as Harry studied the room. He had spent so much time in this office, but it was the first time he had been in it since his former professor took over. There were some differences from the last time he saw it that he could pick out but not many. He moved his hand around the Pensieve as he glanced up at the portraits of all the past Headmasters. His eyes stayed on the two most recent frames. One showed a sleeping Albus Dumbledore and the other one was completely empty. 

“He must have heard I was coming,” Harry said, trying to hide his disappointment with a laugh. “And to think I thought he’d enjoy taking part in me getting in trouble again. You know, for old times’ sake.” 

Minerva raised an eyebrow and glanced up to see what he was referring to. “Do not take offense, Mr. Potter, he hasn’t revealed himself to anyone yet.” She replied. 

Harry frowned. “Does he have another?” He asked. 

“In the Slytherin Common Room but according to the students, he hasn’t appeared there either.” The older woman explained. 

For a second, Harry didn’t respond as he stared up at the empty portrait. While he was very aware that the portraits were only half-lives, there were so many things he had to say to Severus Snape. It was probably for the best though; he was sure that the man just wanted some peace even in portrait form. 

As the years went on, Harry’s visits to Hogwarts became few and far between. Once Ginny graduated, he had few reasons to go. Every once in a while, he would visit Minerva, but the visits slowed to a non-existent once he had a wife, kids, and a career to take up all of his time. 

When he did make the visit though, the portrait of the Headmistress’ predecessor remained empty. So, Harry put it behind him. He made sure Snape’s name was cleared in the Ministry’s case against all Death Eaters and even named one of his sons after the man. Besides that, he tried not to put too much thought into his old potions’ professor.

That was until he was in the office for the first time in years because of said namesake. 

Harry knew that Al had been struggling but he never expected to be called to the castle in the middle of the night because his middle child was caught trying to sneak into the Headmistress’ office. Pacing the office, Harry rubbed the now barely existent scar on his forehead out of old habit. “I cannot believe you did this Albus! What on Earth could possibly been going through your head?”

Young Albus winced as his father yelled at him. He should have known he’d be caught even if he had the correct password and the invisibility cloak. “Dad, I’m sorry, I swear I wasn’t trying to do anything bad.” 

Harry stopped pacing and faced Al. “You weren’t trying to do anything bad? You mean besides breaking and entering?” he asked. 

“I just mean that I can explain why I did it,” Al responded. 

“Okay fine, explain yourself.” His father replied, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Albus took a deep breath and looked at Harry and Minerva nervously. “Well, you always talk about how you named me after two Headmasters, but I never actually got to meet either one of them. So, I thought maybe I could talk to their portraits for…some guidance.” 

Harry sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. “Al…why didn’t you just ask?”

“Because I didn’t want to tell anyone. I wanted to do it alone.” The twelve-year-old admitted.

“While that is understandable Mr. Potter, it does not change the fact that you broke the rules,” McGonagall said from over Harry’s shoulder. “You will have detention every night for the next two weeks. However, when you have sufficiently served your punishment, I will allow you to talk to Professor Dumbledore’s portrait in private.”

“Really?” Albus asked. “Thank you, Headmistress.”

Minerva nodded. “Good. Now head back to your dorm and we will discuss it in more detail tomorrow morning.” 

Albus nodded and stood up and walked towards the door. “Wait, you said that I could speak to Professor Dumbledore, what about Professor Snape?”

“Unfortunately, Professor Snape has never appeared in his portrait,” Minerva replied. 

The boy’s face fell. “Oh. Well okay. Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Professor.” He said softly before leaving the office. 

Once Albus left, Harry turned towards McGonagall. “I’m sorry about his behavior.”

The older woman waved him off. “Nonsense. This is a mundane offense. He could have been chasing three-headed dogs or large snakes.” 

Harry chuckled. “Very good point.” He responded. “I didn’t realize Snape still hasn’t appeared in the portrait at all. It’s been two decades since his death.” 

Sighing, the Headmistress sat across from him. “I can’t explain it. There have been many times I have wished to speak to him. I also would have taken a good deal of pleasure out of seeing his face when he was introduced to a young Slytherin bearing his own name and the Potter name.” 

A soft smile appeared on Harry’s face and he nodded. “I would have as well. No amount of Occlumency would have kept the shock off of his face.”

Getting up to leave, Harry headed towards the Floo to get home. As he reached the fireplace, he noticed a dark orb sitting on a table near it. He picked it up and turned back towards the woman. “This looks like a prophecy. Should I be worried?” he asked her. 

McGonagall shook her head. “Not to worry, it is a canceled prophecy.” She assured him. “That is why it’s not glowing any longer.” 

Harry frowned. “Prophecies can be canceled?”

“If one of more importance comes along. And in the case of this one, it was canceled out by the one that told your story.” She explained. 

Harry stared at the darkened orb with fascination. Whatever it told of it would no longer happen so that he could kill Voldemort. Suddenly, he felt an extreme need to know what it was. He looked up at his former teacher. “What was supposed to happen?”

“Albus left it behind. According to the notes he had with it, it told of two people that would restore the relationship between Gryffindor and Slytherin.” She explained to him. “I’m sure the opportunity will present itself again. Defeating Riddle was clearly the more important task.” 

Nodding, Harry still stared at it. “But if the other prophecy canceled this one, that means this one must have had to do with the same people or at least one of them.”

Minerva hummed. “It’s possible, though you have no need to worry about it yourself. This one was foreseen long before you were born.” 

With one last glance, Harry passed the orb back to her. “Well…good. I think I’ve had enough of being part of prophecies.” He said with a smile.

“I think you are correct, Mr. Potter. Goodnight.” McGonagall replied. 

“Goodnight Professor,” Harry replied before stepping through the Floo.

As Harry reentered his sitting room, he took a minute to collect himself. He and Ginny had been extremely worried about Albus for a while and this latest development was not going to help with that. He truly wished he could figure out a way to help but he was at a loss. 

Clearly, Albus wanted to try to figure it out himself. Unfortunately, Harry was pretty sure speaking to Dumbledore’s portrait wouldn’t help much. The older wizard was not very straight forward alive, Harry couldn’t imagine what it would be like asking the portrait for advice. 

Sighing, Harry headed upstairs to tell Ginny about everything. He had to deal with this first. Then maybe he could pay attention to the voice in the back of his mind that needed to know about the first prophecy.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. 

Summary: It's been twenty years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Life has been quiet for Harry Potter but things are about to change. A new professor at Hogwarts, an unfulfilled prophecy, and something left behind by the Half-Blood Prince will quickly put him back up against old foes.

By the time the Christmas holidays came around, Harry had put everything about the prophecy out of his head. Not long after Albus’ stunt in the Headmistress’ office two months before, he was assigned a particularly tough case and barely had time to sleep in his own bed, never mind let himself think about forty-year-old prophecies. 

Now, the case was over, and he had a whole week off to spend with his family who would be traveling to the Burrow to spend Christmas the following day. So, before the chaos ensued, Ginny insisted on a quiet dinner with just them and the kids the night that James and Albus returned from Hogwarts. Looking down the table at his children and wife, Harry could feel himself relax. 

“So, boys, tell us what you’ve been up to at school. Since your letters have been lacking in content recently.” Ginny said to her sons with a smile. 

James looked up at his mother and only just managed to swallow his food before responding. “Sorry Mum, I’ve been using all my time to practice. We’re tied with Ravenclaw in the Quidditch standings and they’re our first match when we get back.” 

“I hope you’ve been taking some time for your schoolwork as well,” Harry said to his oldest son.

“I am. My marks are the same as always.” He assured him. “Except my potions mark, that one’s actually higher.” 

Harry raised an eyebrow. “It is? I thought you didn’t like potions class.” 

James shrugged. “I still don’t really but the new professor is an okay teacher. Just ask Al, he’s like obsessed with her.” 

“Am not!” Albus protested quickly. 

“Are to! You’re always in there.” James accused. 

“Boys. No fighting at the supper table.” Ginny interrupted before anything escalated more. “Al are you spending more time in potions?” she asked, almost hopeful. Albus hadn’t taken much interest in any subject yet and they had hoped that would change eventually. 

Albus looked down at his food and bit his lip. “No. Well kind of... Professor Septimus has been helping me with all of my other classes too.” 

Harry frowned. “She is?” 

Al nodded. “Well, she’s my head of house now so it was her who I had detention with. She’s started helping me then. She’s a brilliant teacher, dad.” He insisted quickly. “My marks have been improving.”

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other, both feeling a relief that someone had been able to engage Albus with his schoolwork. “Well, that’s fantastic, sweetheart. We’re proud you’re doing better.” 

Harry was quick to nod in agreement. “We are.” He affirmed. 

Albus smiled shyly at his parents and allowed his brother to take over the conversation again. 

After dinner, Harry walked into the living room where Albus was sitting. The boy had some books open in front of him and looked like he was studying. “You know Al, it’s break. You don’t have to study.” He said, sitting down next to him. 

Albus looked up at him. “It’s just an assignment I’m supposed to do for when I go back. I just want to get it out of the way.” 

Harry smiled and nodded. “So, school really has been better then?”

Al took a deep breath and nodded. He put the book down and turned to face his father. “I guess. Classes are better.” 

It wasn’t often that Albus wanted to really talk to his father. Usually, he’d give one-word answers and head upstairs to his room. Harry was going to take this as an opening. “How did your talk with Professor Dumbledore go?” 

“It was okay,” Albus mumbled. “Not what I expected.” In truth, Albus left the meeting with the former Headmaster feeling worse than before. The old man only wanted to talk about Harry. Just like everyone else did. The second-year just wished someone would be interested in him and not who his father was. 

Harry sighed. “I’m sorry, Al. As much as I loved Dumbledore, he wasn’t always very direct with what he had to say. In fact, I normally left my meetings with him feeling more confused than I did at the beginning of them.” He said, just assuming that had been Al’s issue with the conversation. 

Albus sighed and shrugged. “Do you think it would have been better if I had been able to meet with both of them?”

There was a pause in the conversation as Harry tried to form what he wanted to say. “I don’t know, Al. While Snape was far more direct than Dumbledore, he was still unpredictable. Every time I thought I had him figured out, he proved me wrong. I truly don’t know what he would say to you.” 

Nodding slowly, Albus closed his books and stood up, clearly disappointed. “It was a dumb idea anyway.” 

“Al…” Harry sighed but he was cut off. 

“It’s fine, Dad. I’m going to finish this in my room. Goodnight.” He replied and left the room before he could be stopped. 

Harry watched him go and sighed. He hated not being able to help his son. But he felt hopeless, a thing he wasn’t really used to feeling. As many times as he tried to imagine what it must be like for his son, he just couldn’t understand.

Ginny walked into the room and sat with her husband. She had overheard the end of his conversation with their son but didn’t approach until Al had left the room because she was hoping Harry’d be able to get him to open up. “He’s going to come around, love.” She said, rubbing his back. 

Harry looked over at his wife with sad eyes. “I just don’t know how to talk to him, and I don’t know why.” 

“Don’t take this the wrong way but…maybe it’s because you can’t relate to him,” Ginny replied. 

Harry frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you didn’t exactly grow-up the same.” She told him. “And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. You’ve always made sure our kids have had a better childhood than you did. But because of that, they’ll never go through what you did, and you’ll never understand what they go through.” 

“You mean Al won’t be speaking to snakes and endangering people’s lives in his second year?” Harry asked. 

Ginny brushed some hair from his forehead. “Saving lives.” She corrected. “And no, he won’t be. What he has to go through is being Harry Potter’s son and the first one in either of our families to be in Slytherin.” 

“What house he was put in shouldn’t matter,” Harry argued. 

“I agree it shouldn’t but you and I both know it does. The war ending didn’t end the prejudices. In fact, it probably set them back.” She replied. 

Of course, Harry knew that Ginny was right. In the years following Voldemort’s defeat, Slytherin house saw a significant decrease in members. Trust of the witches and wizards of the house was at a new low. Not even tales of a Slytherin war hero could restore the reputation of it. 

It was for that reason kids like Albus dreaded being sorted into it. When they all had a feeling that Al would be a Slytherin, Harry initially thought it would be a good thing. If Harry Potter’s son was one, it couldn’t be too bad. Instead, the opposite happened and his son became the source of ridicule and gossip because of it. 

Part of Harry wished he had convinced him to tell the hat to put him in Gryffindor with his brother. 

“I know,” Harry replied, rubbing his face tiredly. “I just wish I could fix it.” 

“You don’t have to be the one that fixes everything. These are issues that go back to the founding of the school.” Ginny said softly. 

“But now it’s hurting our son, Gin. Of course, I have to fix this.” He insisted. 

Ginny smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “Just let him tell you what he needs, okay? Forcing the subject for him may just make things worse.”

Harry sighed and nodded. “You’re right.”

“I know,” Ginny said with a grin. “Now, let’s head to bed. We’ve got a long few days ahead of us.”

~~~  
Christmas night, Harry found himself sitting outside the Burrow in front of a fire with his best friends. With the kids in bed after another chaotic day behind them, the trio were more than happy to have a quiet night together. Though the three had stayed very close through the years, life, in general, made it hard to spend time together just the three of them.

For Harry, it was a nice way to reflect. Two decades before, the three of them had been out in the cold by a fire just like they were right now but with little hope for the future. Now they were all happy with good careers and families. They had come so far, and it was more than he could have hoped for back then.

“Have you been by to see Professor McGonagall recently?” Hermione asked Harry as Ron topped up their firewhiskey. 

Harry nodded. “I saw her a few months ago when Al got in trouble. Why?” 

“Well, apparently she’s had to hire another potions professor,” Hermione told him. 

“That position has been just as cursed as the defense position was when we were in school,” Ron interjected, sitting back down. 

“It hasn’t been that bad, has it?” Harry asked. 

Hermione nodded. “There’s been five different ones since Slughorn retired ten years ago.” 

“I didn’t realize it was that bad,” Harry said with a frown. “The kids seem to like this one though.” 

Ron shrugged. “Rose said there’s a rumor that she’s a Death Eater.”

“Ronald.” Hermione admonished her husband. “We’re not encouraging such gossip. Especially considering she’s far too young to have been one.”

“How old is she?” Harry asked. 

“Not much older than the seventh years I’d imagine.” The witch replied. 

Harry frowned. “You’re joking. She must have been schoolmates with some of the kids that are her students now. That seems questionable.” 

Hermione shook her head. “She went to Ilvermorny.”

Ron’s face twisted in confusion. “I didn’t know that.”

“That’s because you were only half-listening. You tuned out as soon as someone said Death Eater.” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. 

“Back up. Why do they think she’s a Death Eater if she’s that young and also American?” Harry asked, wanting to get back on track before an argument started between the husband and wife. 

“Apparently she always has her left forearm covered. Even when she rolls up her sleeves, there’s something over it.” Ron explained.   
Hermione groaned. “How old are we again? I thought we put our gossiping about the potions professor days behind us.” 

“Alright, alright. No more gossiping. We don’t know anything about her. But I’m not apologizing for gossiping about Snape. He was a git and deserved it.” Ron replied it. 

“Don’t speak ill of the dead,” Hermione said, whacking him on the arm.

Ron rolled his eyes. “Why not? Snape always did.” He grumbled. 

Harry began to laugh, unable to help himself. Soon the three friends were all laughing, and the conversation moved away from the things happening at their former school. All the while though, the same sense of desire to solve a mystery as he did in his childhood, nagged at the back of his mind. 

Maybe the new potions professor was hiding something.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. 

Summary: It's been twenty years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Life has been quiet for Harry Potter, but things are about to change. A new professor at Hogwarts, an unfulfilled prophecy, and something left behind by the Half-Blood Prince will quickly put him back up against old foes.

~~~  
The next time Harry found himself at Hogwarts was for James and not Albus. He had planned on simply attending his oldest’s Quidditch match for the day before heading home. Instead, he found himself in the Hospital Wing. As talented of a Chaser as James seemed to be turning into, he still needed a lot of work on his reaction time. It seemed bludgers always found the boy. 

As Harry sat next to his son’s bed, he began to think of his own old Quidditch injuries. The most memorable being when Gilderoy Lockhart attempted to fix his arm after a particularly bad fall. Hopefully, no one would be vanishing any of James’ bones. He certainly wasn’t going to allow it. 

A flurry of black robes interrupted Harry’s thoughts as a young woman raced into the room and went straight to Poppy’s side. “Sorry, sorry, I was working on something and didn’t see your message immediately.” She said to the Medi-Witch as she handed her a potion vial. 

“That’s alright, Professor. I know you are still getting used to having so many duties here.” Poppy replied, taking the vile from her. 

The woman bit her lip, clearly slightly embarrassed. “Ah yes.” She said before turning her attention to the student in the bed. “I hear you had a nasty injury today, Mr. Potter.”

James nodded, cradling the injured arm to his chest. “Yeah, bludger got me good. But we still won.” 

A smile filled the woman’s face. “Well, then I am happy to hear that. This Skele-Grow should make you as good as new in no time.” She told him as Poppy handed him the potion.

The young boy didn’t even try to hide his wince when he was told what potion he was going to need. “I hate the taste of that stuff.” 

The woman chuckled. “Which is why I’ve been working to flavor all of my potions.”

“You changed the taste of it?” Harry interrupted, equally surprised and concerned.

The witch spun around towards the voice that had spoken to her. Her eyes noticeably widening when she realized who it was. “I promise you it’s still as effective as it normally would be.” She said before holding out a hand towards him. “Ana Septimus. I’m the new potions professor.” She introduced herself.

Harry began to study the woman as he reached his own hand out to shake hers. So, this was the new professor that had everyone talking. Just like Hermione had suggested, the woman did seem very young. Something in the back of his mind told Harry that he recognized her from somewhere, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. She had bone straight, very dark red hair that framed her face. The soft features of her face seemed to be overpowered by dark, Onyx colored eyes. 

“Harry Potter,” Harry responded to introduce himself as well. 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Potter,” Ana replied in her smooth, American accent. “I very much enjoy having your sons in class.” 

Harry quirked an eyebrow and glanced over at his son. “You do?” 

Ana chuckled and nodded. “I do.” She assured him. “James has been making great improvements in my class.” 

“I’m glad to hear it,” Harry said, smiling at James.

James grinned back at his father and brought the potion bottle to his lips to drink it. “Wow, it really doesn’t taste bad anymore.” He said happily before finishing it all. 

Poppy glanced over at the young potion’s professor, slightly impressed. “Well. That will make getting students to take their potions easier.” 

Ana grinned back at her, clearly pleased with herself. “Happy to help.”

“Now, everyone out. Mr. Potter will need to rest while the potion takes effect.” The older witch instructed.

Harry said his goodbyes to his son, making him promise to keep them informed of his recovery. As he left, he quickly caught up with Ana. “Um, Professor? Do you have a moment to speak?” He asked her.

Ana turned back to him and nodded. “Of course. Care to accompany me down to my classroom? I have some potions on that need attending to.” 

Harry nodded and followed her down to the dungeons. It had been a very long time since he had stepped foot in that part of the castle. However, in that time, he noticed it hadn’t changed at all. For a moment, he struggled to remember if it even had sustained much damage during the battle. When they had been restoring the castle, Harry had been adamant that he did not go down there and preferred to help outside. 

Oblivious to the uneasiness of the man following her, Ana entered her classroom. “If this is about what I said about James earlier, I assure you I was not exaggerating, Mr. Potter.” 

“You can call me Harry.” He insisted. “And this isn’t about James, I was hoping to speak to you about Albus.”

Ana hummed in understanding. “Ah, I see. I have to say, I was a little surprised to find Harry Potter’s son in Slytherin when I arrived here.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re familiar with…the history surrounding me then?” 

The woman smiled and nodded. “I am. Your story certainly reaches far outside of England. There is no ‘Chosen One’ in America so the tales of you are the closest we have.” 

A long sigh escaped Harry. “I know that being my son isn’t always easy on Albus…” 

“Well, that may have something to do with a lot of my colleagues assuming that both he and James are just like you.” She told him. “It seems as though James seems to enjoy it while Albus seems to hate it. Unlike the other professors, however, I don’t know you personally, so I have truly no way to compare them to you.” 

“That must be why Albus seems to enjoy you as a teacher so much,” Harry commented. 

Ana smiled back at him as she walked over to the cauldron she had been working on before being called away. “He’s a good kid. Very clever. No child deserves to be judged solely on who their parents may be.” 

Her statement struck Harry. It was a far cry from how he had been treated in that exact classroom when he was Albus’ age. “Do you speak from experience?” 

The woman froze and looked up at him. “Um no, actually. Not really at least. I didn’t know my parents so I couldn’t have been compared to them.” 

“You were an orphan?” Harry asked, a little shocked. 

“I was. Professor McGonagall found me on Hogwarts’ grounds the morning after you defeated Voldemort.” Ana told him. “She said I couldn’t have been more than a day old.” 

Harry’s shock grew quickly as he listened to her. McGonagall never mentioned any of that to him. Though, he had been a bit preoccupied in the aftermath of it all. “And you have no idea at all who they may be?” he asked. They must have died in the battle for them to have just abandoned an infant there.

“None.” Ana sighed. “All that was with me was a necklace with my name on it. No one recognized my last name, so I was adopted by an older witch and wizard who took me to America.”

Harry listened to her story in slight disbelief. There was no doubt McGonagall would have done her best to find the girl's family but apparently there just were none to find. “Is Septimus your birth name or the name of your adoptive parents?” 

Ana’s eyes were back to being trained on the cauldron in front of her. She wasn’t sure why she was telling him her story but didn’t stop herself. She had spent much of her childhood reading about the Boy Who Lived, another orphan of war. Maybe she felt it easy to speak to him because she knew he’d understand. 

“The name I was born with. I changed it back when I returned here in hopes that maybe someone would recognize it and know something about my parents.” Ana explained to him.

Harry nodded in understanding. “There were so many people involved. On both sides. I’m sure someone will know something.”

The potions professor nodded. “I hope so.” She said as she rolled up the sleeves of her robes to start stirring the potion that she was working on. When she did, she revealed what looked like a Muggle compression sleeve on her forearm. Harry’s eyes trained on it quickly. That must have been what Ron had been talking about and what the students had been gossiping about.

The young witch must have felt Harry’s eyes on her because she let out a barely audible sigh. “I know what the students have been saying I’m covering a Dark Mark but I’m not.” She told him. “I guess it’s certainly possible that my parents were Death Eaters, but I am not. I’m simply covering up old scars that never healed completely.” 

Harry looked at her, slightly ashamed. “Of course. I didn’t think…”

Ana shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m sure the prospect of there maybe being a Death Eater teaching your sons isn’t something you can just ignore.” 

“No, not really,” Harry responded, deciding not to ask her to see it just to make sure. “I should get out of your hair. Thank you for speaking with me.” 

Ana nodded. “Of course. Have a good day.” She replied.

Harry turned to leave but as he walked past her desk, something caught his eye. On the edge of it, was a tattered and clearly old potions textbook. As soon as Harry saw it, he knew what it was. But to be sure, he picked it up and opened the front cover. Inside was the exact words he had been expecting. 

‘This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince’

The older man quickly turned back to Ana who had been watching him the whole time. “Where did you get this?” He asked. 

Ana frowned. “When I came here, I went to Gringotts to open a vault of my own but when I got there, the Goblins informed me that there was already one left in my name. According to them, no one had ever visited it and no one knew who opened it. That book was one of the things inside of it.” 

For a while, Harry said nothing. Having the book in his hands again pulled him into his own memories from his sixth year at Hogwarts. The obsession with the book and its previous owner took over him for a long time. Until the night of Dumbledore’s death and he finally found out who the mysterious Prince was.

“Do you know who it is?” Ana asked when he didn’t say anything for some time. “The Half-Blood Prince? I think it may have to do with my parents…”

A voice screamed at Harry to tell her because he knew exactly who it was. But he stopped himself. “No.” He lied easily. “I’ve just heard a few things about it before.”

Disappointment flooded the features of the young professor, making Harry feel guilty. “Oh. Well…must be another dead end then.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said softly. “That I can’t be of help.”

She smiled genuinely at him. “It’s okay.” 

Harry nodded and reluctantly put the book back down on the desk. “I hope you find the answers you’re looking for, Ana.” He said before heading out of the classroom quickly.

As Harry walked out of the dungeons and then out of the castle, his mind flooded with possibilities. What connected this girl to his own potion’s professor? He didn’t even know how the book was still in existence. What he did know was that he couldn’t tell Ana what he did know. Not yet. Before he did, he needed more answers. 

Harry needed to speak to Hermione.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. 

Summary: It’s been twenty years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Life has been quiet for Harry Potter, but things are about to change. A new professor at Hogwarts, an unfulfilled prophecy, and something left behind by the Half-Blood Prince will quickly put him back up against old   
foes.

Harry paced around Hermione’s office at the Ministry as his friend looked through record books. While many things had changed in the years since the friends were at Hogwarts, one thing that didn’t was Harry’s dependency on the witch to help him research things. Luckily, even though they worked in different departments, their offices were not very far from each other, so Harry often asked for her help. 

One thing that had improved their quest for any and all research, however, was Hermione’s creation of a more efficient way to do it. Working with records that dated back centuries so often, she had created a spell that would allow her to scan books for specific words or phrases without having to read through all of them. The process was had taken a lot of time to perfect, but Harry and Ron often verbalized how they wished she had done it as a student. It would have made their lives a lot easier. 

As quick as the process seemed compared to the usual way of doing things, it still took a long time to search through all of the resources that Hermione had at her disposal. It was a solid two hours after Harry had arrived that the last volume went back to where it belonged on the seemingly endless shelves in Hermione’s office. “Nothing,” Hermione said, looking up at her friend.

Harry frowned. “Nothing? Nothing at all?” he asked. 

Hermione nodded. “Maybe if you gave me a little more information to go on…” 

“What makes you think I have more information to go on?” Harry questioned. 

The woman rolled her eyes at him. “Well for one, I would have hoped you had grown out of believing every potions professor at Hogwarts is hiding something and have a better reason for wanting me to search all these records for her name.” 

Harry ran a hand through his hair as he sat down heavily in the chair across from Hermione’s desk. When he had come to her, he had simply asked her to search for the woman’s name and didn’t reveal anything about the conversation he had with her. “Well, there is one more bit of information, but I didn’t want to mention it and influence how you were looking for it. Problem is, what I’m thinking is probably impossible.” When Hermione looked at him like she was impatiently waiting for him to simply spill what he knew, he sighed. “I think he’s related to Snape.” 

Hermione immediately shook her head to dismiss the idea. “That’s impossible. We researched the Prince line, remember? Snape was the last of them. The only other possibility is that she’s a muggleborn and related to him through his father’s family.”

“I don’t think that’s it,” Harry said before beginning to retell the story the professor had told him about how McGonagall had found her on the grounds of Hogwarts. “If she was at Hogwarts at her birth, there was no way she could be muggleborn.” 

Hermione frowned. “What is it exactly that makes you think she’s related to Snape then?” 

“She has the Half-Blood Prince book.” The wizard replied in explanation. “She told me that when she moved here, there was already a vault in her name at Gringotts and the book was in it.” 

To say Hermione was stumped was an understatement. While Ana having the book seemed to back-up Harry’s belief that there was a connection between her and their former teacher, it wasn’t much evidence to go on. “Don’t you think if Snape had somehow had a child in his care at that time, there would have been something about her in the memories he left you? Those memories were his last thoughts after all. I feel like a baby that would otherwise be abandoned would have come up in them.” 

Harry deflated a bit because he knew she made a good point. “You’re right. I just can’t seem to shake the feeling that there has to be some connection there.” 

“I’ll keep looking, okay? Search through some other books and widen what I’m searching for. Just don’t get your hopes up.” Hermione replied, knowing that Harry was unlikely to accept defeat so easily. 

Harry sighed a bit in resignation and nodded as he stood up. “Thanks, ‘Mione.” He said. “I’m going to head back to work. Let me know if you find something.” He said before exiting her office and heading back to his own. 

A few hours later, Harry sat in his own office with Ron sitting across from him. He had been just about to leave for the day when his best friend showed up to catch up while he waited for his wife to be done working. As they waited, Harry caught Ron up about his suspicions about Ana and how Hermione was helping him. 

As they were talking, Hermione walked into the office quickly holding up a book. “Good. You’re still here.” She said before turning to her husband to greet him. “I’m glad Harry’s caught you up because I think I’ve found something.”

Harry’s eyes widened and he jumped up from his desk to move closer to her. “You did? What is it?” 

“Well, it’s strange. While there were no wizarding documents or records that suggest Snape had any living relatives, there was something that stood out to me in a muggle book.” Hermione explained. 

Harry deflated a little bit at her response. What good would a muggle book do them? Ron voiced the thought before he could though. “How’s a muggle book supposed to help anything?” 

“When I was searching, the name Septimus came up in it. I was going to ignore it but then I realized the title of the book it came up in was ‘The Prince’.” Hermione replied, showing them the book. “It’s a book on political philosophy.” 

Harry glanced at the book. “It’s just a coincidence though, isn’t it?” 

Hermione shook her head. “It could be but there were more coincidences that made me think it could be more than just that. The Septimus that the text refers to was a Roman Emperor.” She began to explain but was cut off. 

“Still would have been a muggle though. One who probably lived a very long time ago.” Ron replied. 

“Let me finish,” Hermione said, glaring at him. “His name was Septimus Severus. And now read this quote that describes him.” She said handing the book to Harry.

Harry took the book and skimmed the words to the section that had a light glow around it where Hermione had marked it. “Whoever examines in detail, then, the actions of this man will find him a most ferocious lion and a most cunning fox, and will see him to have been feared and revered by everyone.” He read. 

Ron frowned and looked over Harry’s shoulder to see it. “Sounds like Snape.” 

Harry nodded in agreement. “You’re right. It does seem like a lot of coincidences.” He said, handing the book back to Hermione. 

“Precisely.” She said. “Which is why I decided to find Snape’s will. Normally, a wizard would have no need to write one because by law, all of their possessions should just go to their heir and they would transfer automatically with magic. However, if you don’t have an heir, you would have to write one, like Dumbledore did. As it turns out, Snape wrote one at the same time Dumbledore did, I’m assuming under the Headmaster’s wishes. But when I found it, it had been nullified automatically because when he died, he had an heir.” 

Harry’s eyes widened at the implication. “So, you’re saying she is a relative of his then?” 

“Not just a relative, Harry. She has to be his child.” Hermione responded. 

“A daughter?” Ron replied, voice rising in surprise. “How is that possible?” 

Hermione rolled her eyes. “How do you think?”

Ron groaned. “I know /how/. I just mean…if she was born during the battle, who could have possibly been her mother?”

“I have no idea.” Hermione shrugged. 

Harry sat back down in his chair as he allowed all the information to really sink in. He couldn’t believe Ana was Snape’s daughter. It didn’t make any sense to him. Why wouldn’t he have included her existence in his memories? Had he not trusted Harry with that information?

That didn’t seem likely though. The older wizard had trusted Harry with his most important and painful memories. Surely, he would have included his daughter in those too. Wouldn’t he have known that Harry would have made sure she was safe? Maybe not because at the time, Snape had thought Harry would soon be dead as well.

Or maybe Snape didn’t even know himself? It was a possibility. Maybe the girl’s mother had kept the child from him, or she simply never had the opportunity to tell him. Thinking of the girl’s mother seemed to annoy him though. Harry had spent the last twenty years believing fully that the only person Snape had ever loved was his own mother. Maybe he had been wrong. 

It seemed even after all of those years; Severus Snape still had secrets.

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by Ron and Hermione who had realized that he had stopped paying attention to their conversation. “I’m sorry…what were you saying?” 

“Ron asked who Snape had left his things to in the will he had written,” Hermione explained, at this point completely used to Harry zoning out of conversations when the information became overwhelming. “And I told him that he left most of his things to the school. Though he also left a few things to Draco and you.” 

Harry frowned. “Me?” 

“Yeah, a few things, including the book itself. Apparently, he thought you should keep it.” The witch replied. 

That took Harry by surprise as well. Snape must have gone looking for the book himself after Harry had hidden it. For some reason he wanted Harry to have it back. Maybe it was because, besides the memory of Lily Evans, that was the only thing that connected the two of them. “This is a lot of information.” He said, putting his head in his hands. 

Hermione patted his shoulder and opened her mouth to comfort him but was cut off by a knock on the door. Harry looked up just in time for Ron to open the door and reveal the girl that they had just been speaking about.

Ana was clearly shocked to see other people in the office with the man she was looking for. “Umm hi. I was just wondering if I could have a word with you, Harry.”

~~  
The quote used above is from Chapter 19 of The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. 

Summary: It’s been twenty years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Life has been quiet for Harry Potter, but things are about to change. A new professor at Hogwarts, an unfulfilled prophecy, and something left behind by the Half-Blood Prince will quickly put him back up against old   
foes.

Author’s Note: This is the first time a chapter is not from Harry’s POV. While it will be mostly his, there are a few chapters that won’t be. Hope you like it!

~~

With the crack of an apparition, Ana found herself in an alley right outside of a muggle neighborhood in Surrey. As she walked out into a street, she stopped near a muggle vehicle to check her reflection. It had been a while since she had worn anything but wizarding robes and was slightly paranoid that she wouldn’t be able to blend in. Smoothing out the pencil skirt she had on one more time, she took a deep breath and began walking towards her destination. 

When the Headmistress had requested her help going to talk to a muggleborn about their upcoming acceptance into Hogwarts, she had been rather nervous. Normally it was the job of the Deputy Headmaster, but Professor Flitwick had been unable to make the journey this time. Knowing Ana had a decent amount of experience in the muggle world, McGonagall had called on her to step in. Eager for the older woman’s approval and to demonstrate she was serious about continuing to work at Hogwarts, she accepted quickly. 

The school’s inability to keep a potions professor for very long ever since the war was something Ana had been aware of coming into the position. She was pretty sure that was why Minerva hadn’t been too worried about how young she was. That and the connection the two had shared. Though, she had been quick to assure the young witch that she would be tied for the youngest person to ever have the job. 

For her entire life, Ana had felt a connection to Hogwarts and wanted more than anything to be there. Unfortunately, her guardians didn’t think it would be wise for her to go there so sent her to Ilvermorny instead. While she had mostly enjoyed her time there, she never felt like she belonged there. Even at her sorting, it seemed for a while that none of the houses were going to choose her. 

Being able to teach at Hogwarts had been a dream come true for her and she was determined to prove herself to not only the Headmistress but to the other professors and students as well. That being the case, she took every and all assignment that they had for her. Which was how she found herself standing outside of a decent-sized home. 

Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock on the door. When the door opened to reveal a tall man, she smiled brightly at him. “Hello, you must be Mr. Dursley. May I speak to you a moment about your daughter Violet?”   
~~

Ana grinned brightly as the young girl in front of her made a flower that matched her name appear in her hand. “That’s amazing Violet. You’re already very talented, I can see. You’ll do very well at Hogwarts.” She said as she looked across at the girl’s father with a reassuring smile. 

As it turned out, her trip to this muggle family had gone a lot easier than she had been expecting. Mr. Dursley seemed to already be very aware of the magical world and had been expecting his daughter’s acceptance into Hogwarts when she had started doing accidental magic when she was five years old. “Do you have any other questions for me, Mr. Dursley?” 

“Please, call me Dudley. And no, not at the moment I don’t think.” Dudley responded as he affectionately pat his daughter on the back when she showed him the flower in her hand. 

Ana nodded. “Well, if you change your mind, you can always write to me.” She assured him. “May I ask how you were already aware of the existence of magic? Do you have another muggleborn in the family?” She asked curiously. 

“My cousin is a wizard. Though I don’t believe he’s counted as a ‘muggleborn’ but from what I understand, my aunt was.” Dudley replied. “Maybe you know him? His name is Harry Potter.”

The young witches’ eyes widened. “Harry Potter is your cousin? I’m pretty sure everyone knows who he is. I’ve only met him once personally. But I teach both of his sons.” 

“I think his youngest is just about my Vi’s age. Hopefully, they’ll get on well. It would be good for her to know someone there.” The muggle man replied. 

“I assure you; she will be well looked after. Hogwarts is a very close community, especially within the houses. She’ll make plenty of friends in no time.” 

As Ana stood to shake Dudley’s hand and leave, she met the eyes of an older woman who was standing in the hallway. Before she could greet the woman though, she glared at the witch and quickly walked up towards her. “What are you doing in my home?” She demanded. 

Ana looked at the woman, slightly stunned. “I-I’m sorry?”

Dudley jumped up when he saw his mother enter the room and moved in between her and the witch. “Mum-“he began but he was cut off. 

Petunia looked straight past him to Ana. “Don’t play dumb with me. You may be changing your appearance, but I know better!”

“Ma’am I assure you, whoever you think I am, I’m not,” Ana said in a calm voice, looking at Dudley in confusion. 

“And to try and use her face! You’re just as awful as you were as a child!” Petunia yelled. 

Ana began to make her way towards the door. “I think I better go.” She said.

Dudley led Petunia towards the couch to sit her down. Ana didn’t hear what he said to her but the woman seemed to calm down. Dudley came back towards her as she put on her coat. “I apologize for my mother, she’s not well. She was diagnosed with dementia a few years back and her bad days have seemed to increase as Violet’s shown more and more magic.”

Ana raised an eyebrow at him. “She’s not a big fan of magic, then?” 

The man ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “Never has been. She never really spoke about it. Didn’t even tell Harry what he was before he got into Hogwarts.”

“I wonder if that’s who she thought I was then,” Ana responded. She had no idea that the muggle relatives that raised the Chosen One hadn’t liked magic. Though she imagined there was a reason Harry kept that to himself. 

Dudley sighed. “I don’t know. Every once in a while, she goes on rants about her sister and some boy that she always referred to as ‘awful’. I don’t think she’s talking about Harry though.” 

“Maybe his father then,” Ana said with a shrug. 

“I assume so. From what I know, they’re the only magical people she’s ever come in contact with.” 

“Well, either way, I hope that her reaction doesn’t change your decision about sending Violet to Hogwarts.” The professor said. 

He shook his head. “She’ll be there. I’ve talked to my wife about it at length since Vi’s shown the signs. We both agreed it would be the best thing for her.” 

“Good, I’m glad. Thank you for your time, Mr. Dursley.” Ana said, shaking his hand before leaving.

As the witch walked back down the path, she had come from to the apparition point so that she could return to Hogwarts, she thought about the Dursley woman. After being welcomed into the home by her son and granddaughter, Ana had let her guard down so the woman’s behavior threw her for a loop. It would have been one thing if she had simply been upset at having a witch in the house, but she clearly thought Ana was someone else. 

Just as she was about to apparate back to the entrance of Hogwarts, Ana changed her mind quickly. A split second later, she was standing at the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. Her mind had been on Harry since their discussion a few days before. There was something in the back of her mind that was telling her he hadn’t been completely truthful with her. She knew he knew where that book came from. 

Adding on what she had just experienced with his relatives, she knew she needed answers and she wasn’t going to leave until she got them. When she entered the building, she immediately told the security that she was sent by McGonagall to speak to Harry in person about a Hogwarts matter. Luckily, the guard didn’t seem at all interested so let her in. Fleeting she wondered how good the security could possibly be if it was so easy to see Harry. 

After a few minutes of getting lost and asking more than one person to point her in the direction of his office, she finally found it. When the door swung open, she was somewhat surprised to be facing not only Harry but the other two-thirds of the Golden Trio she had read about as well. ““Umm hi. I was just wondering if I could have a word with you, Harry.”

Harry stood up and walked towards her. “Uh Professor, is everything alright? Is something wrong at Hogwarts? Or with the boys?” 

Ana quickly shook her head. “No, no. Hogwarts is fine and so are your sons. I actually just had something to discuss with you.” She said, glancing nervously at the other two occupants of the room before continuing. “Today I delivered a Hogwarts letter to a muggleborn student that I believe has a relation to you. A Violet Dursley.”

“Dudley’s daughter? She’s a witch?” Harry asked, frowning a bit at the revelation. He didn’t keep in good contact with his cousin, but he knew he had a daughter about the same age as Lily. “How’d they take it?” 

“Your cousin seemed to have been expecting my visit. Said she had been performing accidental magic since she was five.” Ana replied. “Your aunt on the other hand seemed less than thrilled.”

The wizard sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Not surprising. I don’t think she’ll ever change her opinions.” 

Ana nodded. “While I did find it odd that I had been the one to be given the assignment of informing your relatives they had another witch in the family, there was one thing that happened specifically I wanted to speak to you about. Your aunt seemed to think that I was someone else. Thought that I was using a charm to disguise my appearance. I thought maybe she thought I was you but your cousin disagreed.” 

“What exactly did she say to you?” Harry asked, visibly tensing. 

“She said something about me ‘using her face to trick her’ and being just as ‘awful as I was as a child,” Ana explained. “Do you think she maybe thought I was your father?”

The three older people in the room shared knowing glances at each other before Harry shook his head slowly. “She didn’t know my father when he was a child.” 

Ana had clocked the way the others were looking at each other. Looking at Harry, she could see the same look of shock on his face that he had when he saw her book. “Then do you know who she means?” 

“I don’t-“ 

If there was one thing Ana had prided herself on since becoming a teacher was her ability to control her temper. As a child, she had an awful one and often lost control of it. It had taken a lot of work to be able to reign it in when necessary. Right now, however, she had no such control. Just by the look in Harry’s eyes, she could tell he was planning on lying to her. “Don’t. Lie. To. Me.” She ground out, approaching Harry. “I know you lied to me about not knowing who the Half-Blood Prince is and you’re trying to do it again.”

Any doubt that Harry had in the back of his mind that the woman in front of him was Severus Snape’s daughter flew out the window. Though she didn’t seem to look much like him, her black eyes that seemed to be set ablaze by anger gave her identity away. Apparently, Harry wasn’t the only one that saw it. 

“She’s Snape’s daughter alright,” Ron muttered to Hermione loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. 

Ana’s eyes quickly moved from Harry to Ron. “What did you just say?” 

“Ronald.” Hermione admonished, hitting his arm. 

Harry walked closer to Ana. “You’re right. I was lying. I just…I needed to make sure what I thought I knew was true before I told you.”

The young witch took a deep breath, the anger leaving her as her heart started pounding. “He said, Snape. Severus Snape?” She questioned. Ana had spent a long time reading about the wizarding war when she was growing up and that name had come up a lot. She was also painfully aware that the only other person to get the potions professor job at Hogwarts as young as her was him.

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes. I believe he’s your father.” He said softly. “Obviously, we don’t know for sure but all the signs point to it.” 

Ana felt like her head was spinning. She had to get out of there. The last thing she needed was to break down in front of Harry and his friends. “I uh…I have to get back to Hogwarts.” She said softly, mouth dry.

“Ana, please, let’s talk about this,” Harry said, seeing her start to head for the door. 

She shook her head. “I just…I just need some time to think.” 

As much as he didn’t want her to go right away, Harry knew how overwhelmed she must be feeling at the moment. “Okay… uh…why don’t you use the Floo? It’s connected to the Headmistress’ office.” He said, gesturing to the fireplace.

Ana nodded and thanked him quickly before making her exit without another word. As she disappeared through the fire, only one thought was in her head. Her worst fear had come true. 

She was the daughter of a Death Eater.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. 

Summary: It’s been twenty years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Life has been quiet for Harry Potter, but things are about to change. A new professor at Hogwarts, an unfulfilled prophecy, and something left behind by the Half-Blood Prince will quickly put him back up against old   
foes.

Author’s Note: Finally, the prophecy chapter. I’ve been looking forward to this one, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Please read and review!

It had been two weeks since Harry had told Ana who he believed her father was and he hadn’t heard from her since. He had sent the young professor a few letters but still hadn’t gotten a reply yet. While he understood that it would probably take her time to come to terms with the news on her own, he couldn’t help but become impatient to talk to her. 

Of course, he wasn’t even entirely sure what he would say to Ana. It probably was none of his business after all. He didn’t really know her very well, having only actually spoken to her twice. However, there was something in the back of his mind that told him he had to help her get through this revelation. As much as he tried to tell himself he didn’t know where the voice was coming from, he did. 

After the Battle of Hogwarts, it had taken Harry a long time to come to terms with a lot of things. Despite the fact that his entire life had built up to the moment he defeated Voldemort when it happened, it seemed to just end. Suddenly, there had been nothing to keep Harry’s mind occupied. There were no more Horcruxes to find and destroy, not more strategy to plan. Instead, Harry’s mind was left to linger on all of the people that he had died along the way towards peace. 

His thoughts tended to linger on Teddy the most. Like him, his godson was faced with a life that wouldn’t include his parents and not even many memories of them that could comfort him. Of course, Harry was determined to make sure Teddy knew everything he could about them. For most of his early life, Harry had not a clue as to what James and Lily Potter were like. It wasn’t until his third year at Hogwarts when he met Remus and then Sirius that he finally had people to tell him about them. He knew he had to be that for Teddy. 

Then of course there was Fred. Being as close as he had always been to the Weasley family, it wasn’t hard to see the devastation that Fred’s death had caused. In the weeks and months after the battle, he had found himself feeling immensely guilty when he was around the family. He had been the one to drag them all into this war and they didn’t deserve the pain they were feeling. It wasn’t until a late-night discussion with George that Harry finally started to let go of his guilt. The lone remaining twin assured him that he held no ill will towards Harry because of what happened to his brother. 

In his waking hours in the time after Voldemort’s defeat, Harry was often brought face to face with the people that suffered extreme loss during the battle. When it was night, however, and he was alone with his thoughts, they often turned towards the one person that didn’t seem to have many mourners. And those that did mourn him, it was never to the extent that Teddy Lupin would mourn his parents or George Weasley mourned his twin. Instead, while most people seemed to believe Harry’s words of praise towards Severus Snape eventually, none of them seemed to actually miss the man. 

Harry couldn’t really blame them. The man had gone out of his way to upset most people he came into contact with. Still, Harry found himself going over the memories the man had left him over and over again. He had viewed them plenty of times, but he wanted to keep looking at them because he wanted to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. It wasn’t until Hermione had stepped in and made him realize how obsessive he had become about them that he finally let it go. So, he stored the memories again and put them away safely. Since the year after the war, Harry hadn’t looked at them once, but he always knew where they were. 

Now, faced with the young woman who he was certain was Severus Snape’s daughter, he felt the need to reexamine them again. As he expected, there was still not a single clue in them that the man had a child. Harry couldn’t explain why it made him feel so angry. Did the man not realize that after learning what he did from those memories, Harry would have made sure that his child was safe and well cared for? He owed his professor at least that much after all. A logical voice in the back of his mind pointed out that it was possible that Snape had simply only had the energy to give Harry the memories that were most important while he was dying but it still bothered him. 

Determined that there had to be answers somewhere, Harry gave the memories to an expert that worked with the Aurors. Their job was to make sure memories taken from witnesses, criminals, and victims were not tampered with in any way. They could spot imperfections that most people could not. Harry wasn’t exactly sure what he thought they would find but he figured it was worth a shot. Maybe there had been something he had missed. 

While he waited though, he could not sit still and do nothing. Work had been slightly boring as of late with not many cases. There had been a few reports of possible activity of former Death Eaters but as far as the Ministry could find, no actual crimes had been committed. Harry really hoped that all the reports were just paranoid people. It had been twenty years since any real Death Eater activity had occurred. There was no way they’d come back now. 

With no work to keep him busy, Harry decided his best course of action was to visit Hogwarts again. He had no idea if Ana would have confided in the Headmistress about what Harry had found but if she had confided in someone, that’s exactly who she would have picked. Turning towards the fireplace in his office, he called in to ask Minerva if he could step through. Once he got her permission, he stepped into the flames. 

As Harry walked into the office, McGonagall was already pouring tea for the two of them and heading to sit down in one of the chairs she had by the fire. Harry smiled gratefully as he took the cup from her and sat down across from her. “I assume I owe this visit to young Albus wrote to you informing you of what happened yesterday?” The older woman asked. 

Harry frowned and shook his head. “No, I didn’t get any letters from Al. What happened?” 

Minerva sighed. “A boggart got into the Slytherin common room yesterday after classes.” She informed him. 

“Is Al okay? Did he have to face it?” He asked. 

“No, he wasn’t there when it happened from what I understand but you know children and their gossip. Word spread quickly. Apparently, when Liliana went to take care of it, it shifted into what appeared to be a dark mark. Spurring the children’s beliefs that she herself has a connection to the Death Eaters.” She explained to him. 

Harry frowned. “Liliana? Is that one of Al’s friends?” 

Minerva shook her head. “Our potions professor. I thought you had met her?” 

“She told me her name was Ana,” Harry replied in confusion. 

“A nickname. Her full name is Liliana.” 

Harry stood up and began to pace in front of the fire. Her name was Liliana? It was a name too close to his mother’s not to have been on purpose. His eye caught Dumbledore’s portrait and he noticed the older wizard was not only awake but clearly paying attention to the conversation going on. Harry walked towards him and looked up. “Professor, does the name Septimus mean anything to you?” 

Minerva, clearly confused by Harry’s new line of questioning, followed him over to Albus’ portrait but didn’t say anything. The man looked down at them both and smiled. “Well, it was a fairly common name in the wizarding community for a while but normally as a first name.” 

Harry frowned and studied the man. He knew that wasn’t the only reason the name may have been familiar to the former Headmaster. But just like he was in life, the portrait wasn’t going to show his whole hand at once. “Anyone, in particular, the name reminds you of?” He pressed. 

“Now that you mention it, it was the name Severus used to write to me when I was away from the castle and he needed to inform me of sensitive information,” Dumbledore replied. 

Harry ran a hand through his hair and turned back to McGonagall. “Did Ana speak to you about what she and I discussed when I saw her a few weeks ago?”

The older woman shook her head. “She did not. What is this about Mr. Potter? Surely, you don’t think that she actually has a connection with the Death Eaters, do you?” 

“She does have a connection.” He said softly. “Her father was one.” 

“No one knows who her father was.” Minerva countered. 

“I do. With Hermione’s help, we figured it out. And Professor Dumbledore just confirmed my belief even more.” Harry replied. “Ana’s father was Snape.” 

There was silence in the room as McGonagall tried to take in what Harry had just told her. It was the portrait that broke the silence. “Impossible.” Dumbledore insisted. 

Harry turned back towards him. “What makes you so sure?” 

“There was nothing about Severus that I did not know, my boy,” Albus replied. 

The younger man was unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “Are you so sure about that? As close as you may have been to him, I’m sure there were things even you didn’t know. Besides, if she was born on or around the day of the Battle, you would have already been dead when she was…conceived.” He said, wincing at the word because he truly had no desire to discuss the possible sex life of Severus Snape. 

“Ah yes, you are right. However, my portrait was always near in the year between my death and his.” Dumbledore insisted. “I had to keep my eye on him.” 

“Drive him mad is more like it.” Interrupted another portrait a few over from Dumbledore’s. 

Harry looked up at the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black, with a raised eyebrow. “I merely assisted him to make sure he knew what needed to be done.” Dumbledore insisted. 

“And your constant presence was torture for him, and you know it.” Black shot back. “The boy was eaten alive with guilt from what you made him do and you simply kept reminding him that he needed to make sure Potter would go to his death! And never once did you tell him he’d still survive.” 

Harry sucked in a deep breath. It hadn’t occurred to him before what his year as Headmaster would have done to Snape. Of course, after learning that Dumbledore had been the one to convince Snape to kill him, Harry acknowledged how hard it would have been for him. He didn’t think about the months after Dumbledore’s death where he had been reminded of it daily while still trying to keep the school running and getting help to Harry in any way he could. 

Dumbledore sighed heavily. “While I regret the circumstances, I was simply making sure everything that needed to happen happened.” 

“And everyone wonders why his portrait remains empty. He was sick of being near you.” Black replied. He turned from the direction of Dumbledore’s portrait towards Harry. “As loath as I am to agree with him and as angered his treatment of a fellow Slytherin Headmaster, I do agree with Albus. Severus never ventured very far out of this office. He was constantly calling me back to report on your whereabouts and your safety.” 

Harry sighed and nodded at the portrait. “Thank you, Headmaster.” He replied before sitting back down and looking at Minerva. “I know it can’t be logically explained but I know it’s true. There are too many pieces of evidence.”   
McGonagall nodded. “I do admit that there are some common traits.” She replied to Harry. “While she seems more adept at teaching than Severus ever did and has good relationships with most if not all of the students, there are similarities. For example, these past two weeks she has taken to isolating herself in the dungeons and barely speaks to her fellow staff. She has also had some trouble controlling her temper recently.” 

Harry sighed. “Probably as a result of finding out this information, I’m sure.” He replied as he windlessly reheated the tea in his cup from earlier. “I wanted to speak to her about it but she’s ignored all of my letters.” 

“She should speak about it to someone if it’s bothering her.” Minerva agreed before grabbing a piece of parchment and jotting down a quick note. As she finished, she tapped it with her wand, and it disappeared. “She should be here momentarily.” 

As she expected, Ana entered the office ten minutes later. “You wished to see me?” She asked before noticing Harry was also in the office. A scowl formed on her face. “Is this an ambush?”

“We simply wish to speak with you,” Minerva replied, ushering her towards where Harry was sitting. 

Ana looked at Harry angrily. “You had no right to tell anyone.” She said, feeling like her privacy had been compromised. After learning what she had, she had no intention of ever telling anyone the truth. 

Harry sighed. “I was worried about you. I know this news must be overwhelming, but you should talk about it.”

Ana shook her head. “There’s no reason to.” She insisted. Her magic betrayed her words though as the furniture around her began to shake because of the amount of emotion she was trying to suppress. 

The table by the fireplace shook the most out of any of the furniture. A small orb that had been on the table began to roll off of the table and it caught Harry’s eye. Recognizing it as the prophecy he had spoken with McGonagall about before, he jumped forward in order to catch it. Seeing the same thing, Ana also reached to grab it. 

At the same moment, Harry and Ana both took hold of it right before it hit the ground. As they did, the prophecy lit up and an eerie voice began to speak. 

"The vanquisher of the Dark Lord has been united with  
who he had long looked for.   
A lion with the mind of a snake and a   
snake with the heart of a lion united.   
Born of the same blood and enemies of the lost generation.  
Together they will finish what was long ago started.   
Reuniting their houses once more."


End file.
